First stop in our second, Fall, initiative, and 6th stop overall, and we’re back on the Canaries. This time, we’re exploring one of the favorite islands for digital nomads – Gran Canaria. And none less than its capital – Las Palmas, all thanks to Coliving 1907.

We’re lucky to explore this amazing city through Coliving 1907 because the owner and the host, Raquel Villalobos Vega is a true local, and on top of knowing all the tips and secrets of the city, she makes sure that the coliving is very well connected to the digital nomad community.

If you’re longing for a place where you could stay for a few months, enjoy nice weather, meet a lot of amazing people, and learn so many new things, Coliving 1907 in Las Palmas is a perfect choice.

Need more persuasion? Read our experience below. 🙂

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Las Palmas – a city where nomads and locals cohabitate

Las Palmas is one of the most vibrant cities in the Canaries. With not many regular tourists, it’s a perfect spot where digital nomads and slow travelers cohabitate with the locals. The dynamics of the city make it even more attractive for slowmads as they can balance between the local culture and interacting with other nationalities.

If you come to Las Palmas, it is practically impossible not to meet someone, not make friends, or feel alone. Along with the vibrant life, the weather in Las Palmas is one of the nicest in the Canaries with temperatures being between 20 and 27 degrees throughout the year and with little or no wind.

This place gives off a perfect mix between island life and metropolitan so it is good for those who love nature, surfing, and adventure, as well for those who like commodities, big city life, and socializing events.

Coliving 1907 is located in the city’s old town – Triana. A bit further away from the beach (further meaning 30 minutes by foot or 10 minutes by bus), Triana is the local center of Las Palmas, with gorgeous cobblestone streets, tall antique buildings with ornaments and wooden gates and tons of local coffee shops and restaurants with traditional and affordable offerings.

How to get to Coliving 1907

To come to Las Palmas, you can either come by plane from the mainland or by plane or ferry from another island.

Ferry to Las Palmas

If you’re coming by ferry, you can go directly to Las Palmas. The port is located in La Isleta, the most northern part of the city. From there, you can take a free ferry bus that will take you to Santa Catalina park which is 5 minutes from the bus stop and the central bus station.

Coliving 1907 is located a bit further in the city, where the old town is – in the neighborhood called Triana. This is about an hour’s walk from where the ferry bus will leave you or a 10-minute bus ride from the Santa Catalina bus stops.

When you get off the ferry bus, cross the road/bridge and go straight forward until you see lots of bus stops. You will need to take bus number 17 which will stop at the first bus stop. The ticket price for one ride is fixed for every in-city ride and will cost you 1.40 euros.

Plane to Las Palmas

The airport is about a 20-30 bus ride from the coliving. There are different buses that you can take from the airport. All of them will bring you to the same bus station – San Telmo.

Once you get off the bus, the coliving will be just 5 minutes walking from there, two streets above and parallel to Triana street.

The space

Coliving 1907 is a beautiful family house from – yes, you guessed it – 1907. The building is what takes this coliving experience to another level with its authentic Spanish vibrations.

Even though patios (stone gardens or atriums with open skylights in the center of the building) are something thought to be typical for Andalusia or Latin America, they can be found all over Spain and they’re often closely connected to Spanish culture.

In Las Palmas, at least in the old town around Triana, you can spot these gorgeous houses with patios on every step. There is something magical about them because when you open the doors of a building, instead of a boring hallway, you are welcomed with this spacious, colorful oasis, and it feels like you’ve encountered a secret world.

And just like its neighboring buildings, Coliving 1907 also has this secret world inside of it which adds to the atmosphere and makes you feel a bit like royalty. Lucky for you, we’ll give you a glance into this secret world today. Let’s take a tour. 🙂

Patio

As soon as you enter Escritor Benito Perez Galdos street, in front of this cute little coffee shop, and through a high wooden door, the patio will open up to you. You will walk through a small, beautifully decorated hallway and a black gate with the year 1907 written in the iron.

The next thing that will catch your attention will be a tall palm tree in the center of the patio, surrounded by dozens of other colorful pots and plants. If you wish to enjoy the peace and breathe in the view, you can take a seat at one of two yellow sitting corners and take your time before going upstairs.

Even though this patio can be the perfect place for gatherings and events, currently, it serves more as this peaceful oasis for colivers to come and join a bit of silence and daydreaming. The only reason for this is that the coliving already has another communal area for gatherings and events, but we’ll get to that later. 🙂

With an open skylight, decorative tiles, and a garden-like feeling, it’s a perfect spot for reading a book, writing a journal, or sharing a pot of tea with another coliver over a light conversation. Oh – and, of course, for taking photos! 😀

If you’ve taken enough time to enjoy the patio, let’s get into a celebrity mood and take the red-carpeted stairs up to the first floor to explore the interior.

The interior

As soon as you walk up the stairs, you will be welcomed by a hallway that goes into a circle around the patio. Whichever way you take – left or right – you will come to your destination.

This floor is a perfect mix of antique and modern – with dark wooden floors, tall ceilings, and big windows looking at the patio and the palm tree.

This floor takes up the majority of the interior of the house and can be split into 3 areas – kitchen and dining area, chillout zone, and the rooms.

Let’s start with the rooms as one of the most important factors when choosing a coliving.

Rooms

Coliving 1907 has 8 private rooms, single and double. All rooms are named after a specific area in Gran Canaria, which is thoughtfully presented on a minimalist map in front of each room.

The inside decoration of the rooms also follows these names and have colors, paintings, or other decoration that hints at or reminds of the area.

Seven rooms are on the first floor, and one is on the patio. Two rooms share the bathroom and others are private – some inside the room, and some outside.

We stayed on the first floor in room Mogan, inspired by a charming fisherman village in Gran Canaria. To match the name, there were a lot of sea-inspired decorations like a blue wall, a golden dolphin piece, a calming painting of the fish underwater, and other blue details.

Except that, all the rooms on the first floor have a huge, two-meter-tall window looking out onto the street. Some of the rooms also come with a private balcony.

A valuable feature that you will find in the rooms is the height-adjustable table that you can turn into a standing desk which makes work so much more enjoyable.

Inside community spaces

Other than the rooms, on the first floor, you will also find all the interior community spaces.

The kitchen

On the separate side of the rooms, you will find the kitchen and the community coworking area.

The kitchen is big enough for a few people to prepare their food and even has a table that two, or three people can sit at and eat or prepare food together.

There are two fridges in the kitchen, and every room has its shelf. Both fridges also have a “general” shelf that is used for things that are for everybody.

Sometimes, somebody might put things where they want to share with others, and other times, when a coliver is leaving the house, they can leave here what they can’t bring with them so the food doesn’t get thrown away.

In the kitchen, each room also has its pantry shelf for storing food, and there’s also one general shelf for things that don’t need to be refrigerated.

Indoor coworking area

Besides the kitchen, there is the main indoor community space – a coworking/multifunctional area. It’s a big table with comfy antique-looking chairs with about 10 seats.

Here, you will also find a big vertical mirror and pics of all the current and past colivers.

Lazy area

Lastly, when it comes to indoor common spaces, the first floor also has a comfy lounge area with bean bags and window nooks great for lazier work on your laptop or a cup of coffee in the afternoon.

However, even with lots of space inside for the community to gather, these all places are completely outshined by one particular outdoor space, and one of the best amenities of Coliving 1907 – the rooftop.

Rooftop

One of the strongest selling points of Coliving 1907 is its rooftop. This huge, multifunctional area truly elevates the experience and is definitely the most beloved feature of most colivers.

The rooftop compliments Gran Canaria’s late spring-early summer temperatures throughout the year and serves as the perfect spot for all sorts of activities – day or night.

The space is big enough to be divided into different sections. The main part of the rooftop, and where the most activity happens, is the gazebo. The gazebo is the key solution that makes the rooftop useful and accessible at all times.

Even though many colivings in Spain have similar flat rooftops because that’s a typical feature of houses and buildings in Spain, with nothing providing shade, they make it hard to be used during the day. The sun in Spain can be very strong so without any shade, it’s practically impossible to stay on the rooftop for a long time and especially impossible to work from it.

Coliving 1907 found the perfect solution for this and elevated its rooftop to a maximum. The gazebo gives shade during the day and can also double as protection from the rain. So, with mild temperatures throughout the day, colivers prefer to spend their time outside, eating, working, or just chilling out.

The gazebo floor is covered in faux grass carpet, making it soft and cozy to walk on even barefoot.

Main Coworking Area

Besides this, there are two tables – one regular long table with 8 seats and one high table with 4 seats. There are also two egg chairs that you can move around, as well as extra chairs and two deck loungers that you can take out when you need them.

Other than the thoughtfully designed space, another thing that makes the rooftop the main coworking area is that it is packed with outlets and good wifi.

All these characteristics make this area the one that the colivers use the most, and the main gathering area in general. All events, activities, family dinners, and so on that happened in Coliving 1907, happen on this rooftop. There are about 20 spots for people to fill up the space but still be comfortable, which is a bigger capacity than the coliving itself, so on regular days, it’s a very spacious and comfy zone to have your breakfast, work, or share a conversation.

Other areas

Other than the gazebo, the rooftop has a back area (invisible from the gazebo) with a clothesline where you can leave your clothes to hang out and dry in the indirect sun and fresh air.

There is also a laundry room with a washing machine, detergent, softener, and iron with an ironing board, that is currently free for use on the roof. This room also doubles as a communal toilet.

Lastly, the central part of the rooftop is the one that stays in the sun so you can take out the deck chairs and sunbathe. It also has a nice platform in the middle that can be used as a sitting area or a central area for events during the night. Although, the events mostly happen under the gazebo, but we’ll get to that later. 🙂

The Community

Coliving 1907’s community is structured in a specific way that differs a bit from a typical coliving community.

The Core Community (Current colivers)

First of all, with 8 rooms, Coliving 1907 is a small-sized coliving, so the coliving community is also smaller and with dynamics that feel more like a family.

Las Palmas is a lively city with loads of things to do so most of the colivers live lives at their own pace, pursuing activities and hobbies they like. This means that, unlike some other, more remote communities, you will not see people here constantly doing everything together.

When there are shared interests, people will connect over them, but there is not that kind of pressure to engage in things you’re not particularly interested in only because it’s a pre-organized community activity.

The dynamics in the house are tranquil, respectful, and friendly, and the activities done together often happen organically and spontaneously. Going out with a few of your fellow colivers to a party feels like you’ve got family with you. You will see these people at home, you can always count on them to support you and be there if you need them. It’s not necessarily about spending the most time together, but always being there for each other.

The host

The host and owner of the coliving, Raquel, is also very well integrated into the community without putting the feeling of overlooking or micromanaging the community.

What makes this community even more family-like and the house feel like home is the fact that a lot of people are staying for at least a few months. People don’t come here to have an intense experience and go back home to their lives, they move their lives here and build the community around themselves.

Ex-colivers

All these facts are actually the reason why Coliving 1907 has another layer when it comes to its community that we don’t often see in other colivings. This layer consists of ex-colivers who stayed at the coliving, loved it, had to move out for one reason or another, but decided to stay closely connected to the place and the people, making a part of the extended community.

One of these folks we met was Carlos, who stayed at the coliving for 10 months, and after he moved out, continued being part of the community, coming to events, joining group activities, and so on.

Another example can be Daniel, a coliver that lived in the house when we moved in and moved out a few days into our stay. However, he was still so much integrated into the community, that it took me a whole week to realize that he had moved out.

Digital nomad community of Las Palmas

Lastly, besides these two layers of the community, there is another one, and that’s access and connection to the bigger network of digital nomads in Las Palmas.

Unlike most colivings, Coliving 1907 often opens its doors to the folks outside and helps its colivers become a part of the digital nomad community on the island by staying on top of the happenings in the city, giving you access to this big community on Slack, and organizing open events for everybody to join.

Now, let’s talk about how this coliving organizes its events.

Events and activities

Coliving 1907 organizes its events on a monthly basis, offering 4-5 events per month, most usually once per week.

Even though some colivings organize events more frequently, for Coliving 1907, this is the perfect amount of activities, and here’s why.

First of all, as we mentioned, most people stay here for a long time. When you’re coming on a 3-week long workation, having daily activities makes sense. However, when you’re living somewhere for a few months, you don’t have the energy and the capacity to engage in activities every day.

Once a week is more than enough to gather in a bigger group of colivers and do something interesting and fun and use the rest of the days in the week for yourself and your interests, occasionally and spontaneously socializing.

Secondly, in Coliving 1907, people are much more likely to spontaneously organize what was happening between themselves so they didn’t need an entertainer. Some colivings that organize daily activities, organize beach trips or go to a restaurant together. In Coliving 1907, those are not considered pre-organized activities as the colivers organize them between themselves.

The activities and events that Coliving 1907 organizes are more events than activities, so it makes much more sense to have them once a week, and leave space for more casual activities during the week.

Third, as we mentioned, Coliving 1907 is located in the center of Las Palmas – a big city full of life and daily events for digital nomads. By giving its colivers access to this bigger community in the city, they are exposed to daily events around the city and can choose where and when they will go and what they’ll do. There are unlimited possibilities in the city so making events more frequent in the colivings would mean making the colivers choose if they will stay inside or go explore other interests.

Fourth, as we mentioned, Coliving 1907 opens its events to people outside of the coliving as well. By posting in the digital nomad slack group and advertising on social media, at each event at least a few people from the outside join. It’s a great way to broaden the community, but also to offer valuable events to others as well.

For example, we organized our SEO seminar there, so, by opening the event to everybody, people outside the coliving who were interested in the subject had the opportunity to come and participate which resulted in some new connections. In a way, this is also how Coliving 1907 gives back to the bigger community of Las Palmas.

During one month, it’s usually a schedule of mixed free and paid activities. Some interesting events that you could find in Coliving 1907 are:

• International potluck dinner
• Raw tapas workshop
• Spanish workshop
• Coworking day

For us, participating in these kinds of events and hosting one of them in this structure was something new and very interesting and we find it to be another selling point of this coliving.

Managing a coliving this way is not very common and can be challenging. It’s much easier to have a community manager that will entertain guests daily in order to get good reviews and a positive experience. Coliving 1907 took that risk and exceeded it. Raquel did an amazing job using the opportunities of the city to engage the coliving’s community, but also, providing a balance between intense digital nomad experiences and tranquil home life.

With this approach, she managed to create a valuable family-like community that stays alive beyond the booking dates.

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Coliving 1907 – A historical house telling a unique story of Las Palmas

• ByMarko
• November 5, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

• ByMarko
• November 18, 2021

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #6 Coliving 1907 – Your peaceful refuge in the Digital Nomad Center of Gran Canaria appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

More than two months ago, we started this project on the Canary Islands in La Gomera, only passing by through Tenerife.

Now, after visiting Galicia and Valencia, we’re back on the islands, and we have a second chance of exploring Tenerife and all its beauty, and we’re super happy about it.

Tenerife is a magical place tailored for nature lovers, rock climbers, and adventurers.

Sadly, many go without knowing that classical tourism in places like Tenerife hurts its raw beauty or that it doesn’t truly show what these places have to offer without artificial tourist attractions.

If you’re not a classical touristic type and you’re always looking for a way of connecting with the local community, learning about the culture, and experiencing what locals love to do when you travel, then you’ll love Cactus coliving in Tenerife South.

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Tenerife’s new tourism model

In the past few years, or since the pandemic, Tenerife has become a favored spot for digital nomads, especially from Europe.

This has to go in hand with the fact that a lot of previously popular digital-nomad places were not accessible to European nomads anymore, so traveling nationally, or at least in the Schengen area, made more sense.

So, while the European mainland went through winter, people realized that the Canary Islands might provide the same escape from the cold as popular Asian and South American destinations, only much closer and much more accessible.

That is how this destination, which was previously popular only for a few weeks of a hedonistic escape, started to receive attention from remote workers, digital nomads, and younger expats looking for a place to settle down for a few months or years.

As it is already familiar, digital-nomad-focused tourism calls for a completely different business model than that of classical tourism and this is why Tenerife started blooming in new colivings, hostels turned into coliving spaces, coworking cafes, and many more opportunities tailored for the digital nomad lifestyle.

Still, many property owners designed their places only for extended stays, but their behavior towards the island stayed the same. The opportunities they offer are the same as the ones touristic agencies provide, and not many truly incorporate the life and soul of the island.

That’s why a need for a different approach was born. An approach that will give back to the island and emphasize its beauty through kind and natural touristic activities that do not disrupt the ecosystem and the culture.

And that need is also one of the reasons Cactus coliving was born.

The neighborhood

Cactus is located in Valle San Lorenzo, a small town in the province of Arona, just 10-15 minutes by car from well-known locations like Las Americas and Los Cristianos.

Unlike many other colivings, the house is not outside the town, so even if you’re not in the mood to take the car or a bus and go to the city, you can still find everything you need around the corner.

For example, literally around the corner, a minute from the house, there is a rather big supermarket, Alteza.

Still, if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, just down the street, on a 7-minute walk, there is a hypermarket Hiper Dino with an even more sizable choice of groceries.

When it comes to dining out and entertainment, there are also a few cafes, restaurants, and bars around that you could visit to have a quick barraquito or a Saturday night cocktail.

On top of everything, because Roque de Jama is close by, you will enjoy gorgeous views while strolling through the town or, even better, chilling on the Cactus rooftop.

The house

The Cactus house has quite a story behind it.

It’s more than 200 years old, and it was one of the first and most important houses in the town that supplied the whole town with gofio and electricity.

Originally, it was a part of two more houses with a total of six immense water tanks that fed their gardens.

With the development of the town and the infrastructure, the houses split, and this one was left in the keeping of the church.

Some decades later, the church put the house for sale to the public and that is when Maria’s (the Cactus coliving founder) family bought it.

There were some periods that the family lived there and some when the house was empty, but Maria more or less grew up there.

Before opening the coliving, nobody lived in the house for a decade, but during the pandemic, Maria decided to move back into it, which, step by step, gave birth to what it is today.

The name

Probably one of the most beautiful stories about this coliving is the story about its name.

Apparently, when Maria was born, her mother planted some cactuses in the house’s backyard.

And despite periods when the family rarely visited the house, and nobody was there to care for the property or the plants, the cactuses survived all these years and not only survived but thrived.

Today, 27 years later, they are still standing tall and powerful, overlooking the house and stretching more than 6 meters in the sky.

For that sake, it only felt right to name the house after its most loyal keepers, and that is how Cactus coliving got its name.

Thinking about it, it truly feels like a perfect name because it tells the story of the house, the family, and the founder, but also about Tenerife, its history, and the raw and strong nature that makes this island exceptional.

The rooms

Cactus house has twelve rooms in total – one dorm room and the rest private single and double rooms.

The house is spacious thus the rooms are nicely scattered across it.

If you’re not deliberately counting them, you could go without knowing how many rooms are there and where all the rooms are.

The whole house can be divided into two main parts – the old one and the new one.

• The old part is close to the kitchen and opens up to the front yard. This part of the house has five rooms on the ground floor.
• The new part is the rear side of the house that connects with the main coworking area that opens up to the backyard. This area has two rooms on the ground floor, from which one is a duplex, so it also occupies the upper part and the other three rooms on the first level.

Besides these two main groups of rooms, there is also one more room on the rooftop and a dorm room on the upper level of the house.

What is intriguing and captures the spirit of the Canaries is that every room carries the name of an endemic plant species native to the Canary Islands.

Some of these plants are endangered so carrying their names, the rooms also spread awareness about them in a way.

The coworking spaces

Another valuable asset of Cactus coliving is its coworking spaces. Without a doubt, Cactus has one of the best indoor coworking spaces that I’ve seen.

They have two massive coworking areas that are at disposal to their colivers at any time, as well as one all-purpose room perfect for coworking in a smaller group setting and one private conference room.

The main coworking area

The main coworking area is a luminous, ample open space with two big desks with approximately ten seats.

This space is always full of natural light as it opens up to the backyard with a big glass door, and it has a quarter of the ceiling open so the fresh air and natural light can flow through the space.

Some of the things that make this space inspiring and relaxing are the ceiling that is approximately 10 meters high, space openness, and the best part – a tall palm tree growing right next to you.

There is a perfect indoor-outdoor balance in this space, making it the favorite spot for working among Cactus’ colivers.

Other than the chairs and desks, this area also has two cozy lounge areas where you can lay down and work or catch something on the TV. This corner can either play as a living room or simply as a more comfortable working area.

The main coworking space is the one that occupies the most seats, however, it’s designed for a more casual working environment.

That is why another coworking area exists in the house for those who need more silence and tranquility or don’t like the open-space vibe as much.

The silent room

The silent room is just a fun name for the indoor office space in Cactus. Because it’s completely indoor and stands a bit further away from the rooms than the other coworking area, it’s decided that this would be a more tranquil and silent space for work.

This room is also a proper coworking space with four long tables and a lot of chairs. Even though it is rarely fully occupied, it can fit all the colivers if they wanted to be there.

This area is a bit colder during the day as it doesn’t have as much sunlight, so it can be a good space for chilling out if the other space gets too sunny or just having a bit of a private escape.

The silent room also has a super cozy lounge area. The cozy couch can also be another half-private spot for working when you’re in that “working from the bed mood” but don’t want to stay in your room the whole day.

The conference room

A concept of a conference room is something that we have only seen in Cactus, so far. But, when you think about it, it’s a very useful amenity.

Beside the door, you will notice a small whiteboard that serves as a booking tool.

You can write your name on the board and book the space for up to 3 hours per day, so you know you have a safe, private room if you need to be on a call, work on a project, study, or whatever else.

It’s a small room perfectly tailored for one person, so it’s a great place to have a video call, an online presentation, or maybe an interview of some kind.

If this room is occupied, or if you’re just looking for a cooler place during one hot afternoon, Cactus has another conference room that you might fit better, and it will surprise you what it is!

The wine cellar

Do you remember the story about the water tanks from this and the other two houses that date back to the early days of the town?

Well, the one water tank left in the Cactus house after the house separation is still there but with a new purpose – it’s converted to a wine cellar… and some other things.

This chilly room provides a downright space for keeping local wine and having wine workshops, but it can also work as a cool and peaceful working area when the house is too crowded or the temperatures are too high.

The booking principle is the same as for the small conference room inside the house.

The only difference between the wine cellar and the conference room is that the wine cellar can fit more people, so it might be the best place in the house for in-person meetings.

Other than that, when it’s not booked (and rarely is), everyone is free to go down and chill, work, or have a conversation down there.

Other working spaces

Besides the official working spaces, Cactus has a lot of other corners that you can go to with a laptop.

For example, one of the more casual but popular places for working is the hammock in the front yard. There is a tall coffee table in front of the hammock that you can move around, but it’s the perfect height for sitting in the hammock and having the laptop on it. This nook is also in the back of the front yard behind an avocado tree, so it gives you some privacy as well.

Another place where you could either go to work or have lunch is a table with a bench behind the kitchen. People often choose the long table on the main porch for either eating or working outside, but if you’re not in the mood for being around a lot of people, this place behind the kitchen can be equivalent.

And of course, while we’re on about outdoor places, another option for early morning or evening work is on the rooftop. During the day, the rooftop gets super sunny so it might be hard to see the screen, but when the sun is already down, or not yet fully above us, there are a few spots where you can chill and work from. In fact, I’m in one of the rooftop corners as I’m writing, chilling in the hanging egg chair and overlooking Roque de Jama. 🙂

Lastly, all rooms have a desk with a chair, so if none of these spaces work for you, you can always work in your room. The wifi is reliable, strong, and fast throughout the property, so it doesn’t really matter if you choose the rooftop, the coworking, or the wine cellar.

The activities

Every week, a new set of activities is pinned on the bulletin board in the kitchen, as well as sent out in the Slack group.

The bulletin board works great as the first announcer since Slack sometimes doesn’t push notifications, but also as a reminder throughout the week.

Every time you walk into the kitchen, you’ll notice the board, and if you need to remind yourself when the activities are happening, this is a good way. But, signing up for the activities is through Slack.

Of course, Maria or the volunteers send a kind reminder to the group a day before a big activity or on the day of the smaller ones. What we loved about the activities in Cactus is the fact that they are very simple but very enriching.

Maria really provides you with a value that you probably wouldn’t be able to have without her because they are not classical tourist activities but something that keeps you in touch with the local culture and surroundings.

Being a local, Maria can show you places that only locals know.

Maybe some secret shortcuts and cool spots that tourist agencies don’t know about, but above all, Maria works hard to connect with local businesses, organizations, and the community, and that’s what makes these activities so unique and valuable.

So, even if it would be easy for Maria to quickly organize something for a group that doesn’t know anything about the Canaries, she puts a lot of effort into it.

With every activity, you can tell that she did her best to make the experience most worthwhile for the colivers but also the area.

Here are some activities that we participated in during our stay, and some that you can expect if you come:

Local-cuisine workshops

One type of activities Maria loves to organize bi-weekly or monthly so that everybody can participate at least once are these local-cuisine workshops.

Mojo (Rojo and Verde) workshop

The Canaries have quite a few typical dishes, but one of the most famous ones are tasty spreads Mojo Rojo and Mojo Verde (the typical red and green sauces).

These spreads either go with the bread as an appetizer or as a sauce with the main dish, and they’re super tasty!

Barraquito workshop

And when it comes to traditional drinks, Tenerife has a typical coffee drink called barraquito. This is a sweet coffee-based drink with citrus liquor. It’s a delicacy and the locals drink it as much as the tourists.

But, most tourists come to love both the mojo and the barraquito, so Maria decided to organize workshops and teach Cactus colivers how to make them.

It’s not only a fun activity, but it also lets travelers bring a part of the Canarian culture home. It’s a way of spreading the word about the Canaries that’s beyond the tourist attractions.

Hiking Tenerife

The area is full of amazing hiking spots and luckily, Maria is a knowledgeable hiker.

Every week, there will be at least one hiking activity in Cactus that Maria will take you to. Most hikes are beginner-friendly, and, like Jasper, Cactus’ longest coliver, says, hiking spots are different almost every time.

Hiking in Roque de Jama, Tenerife South

The only hikes that will happen from time to time are the hike to Roque de Jama and the hike on Teide.

Roque de Jama is the closest rock to the Cactus house. It’s a very local hiking spot with not many people around.

Maria loves to take the colivers there and share a bit of her knowledge on the geography of Tenerife. She likes showing what is where from looking from the top of the rock and just giving a fun lesson on the area while you’re enjoying the hike and the views.

It’s a very fun hike and super beginner-friendly, and you get bonus points if you spot the Cactus house from the top! 😀

Hiking in Teide

Subsequently, hiking on Teide is one of those must activities when coming to Tenerife.

Teide is the highest point in Spain, and that said, you can choose trails for beginners or more advanced trails. When Maria organizes the activities for the group, they will normally be light enough for everyone to join so it can suit the group.

For example, we went this May with Maria to see the blooming of a beautiful flower, tajinaste native to Tenerife. It was a light, but worthy hike. And yes, if you were asking yourself, one of the rooms in Cactus is, in fact, called Tajinaste.

Of course, if you want to go to an advanced hiking trail, you can ask Maria to give you some tips, or maybe join her when she’s doing it outside the group activities.

Daily yoga

Cactus has a few volunteers, and most of them are here to help out with the house maintenance but also to teach yoga.

Many colivings offer yoga lessons as one of their selling points, and even though Cactus doesn’t emphasize this because there are many other things to experience there, they too organize yoga every workday.

Sometimes, the yoga lessons are on the rooftop, sometimes in the garden, and sometimes in a nearby calisthenics park.

Connecting colivers with the local community and culture

One of the biggest goals that Maria wants to accomplish with Cactus is to promote the real Canarian culture, show the colivers what the area is really like, support small business owners, and showcase the need of practicing sustainable tourism in the Canary Islands.

As previously mentioned, she connects with many local businesses and organizations that help the island (Canary Green, Rotary, etc.) as well as local shop owners, farmers, etc., to build a unique and sustainable experience for Cactus’ visitors.

One of the many ways she inspires travelers to participate in sustainable tourism is by providing them with locally grown food, and taking them to the local farmer’s market every week.

She also wants the colivers to connect with the local culture, so she always tries to show them local events if there are any around.

For example, during our stay, there was a town festival that we visited all together and went to with Maria’s family and friends all dressed in traditional costumes that she got for us. It was such a wholesome experience.

These experiences will always be different because they depend on what is around the time you’re visiting. But, Maria will make sure to be informed and allow colivers to participate in something like this.

Connections with other colivings

Cactus is also well-connected with other colivings in the area, so by staying here you will have the opportunity to participate in events with other colivings and the digital nomad community in Tenerife.

This can be an amazing way to meet new people, share experiences, and just have fun.

During our stay, we had two events that other colivings organized that we were invited to because we were in Cactus.

So, if you want to explore other places as well, Cactus is a great place because it nurtures support and collaboration with other places rather than competition.

Community

Lastly, the community in Cactus is very diverse, both age-vise and country-vise. But, somehow, the people find that they’re connected here because they were all searching for something like this.

Maria herself doesn’t live in the house and is not a core part of the community, but more of an external link. The volunteers, however, are a part of the community that, in a way, feels like a family.

The reason for that might be the house itself and how the rooms are laid out. The communal areas inspire spontaneous and casual conversations but the house is big enough to find your safe spot where nobody will impede you.

Some people came to Cactus, went on to other parts of Tenerife, then came back to Cactus because they liked the atmosphere.

Even though you can stay for 10, or 15 days, Cactus is a perfect house for long-term stays like 4, 6 months, or even longer. Maybe the best one yet.

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Cactus Coliving – Tenerife’s gem for digital nomads

• ByMarko
• May 12, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

• ByMarko
• November 18, 2021

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #5 Cactus – The perfect long-term coliving experience with a local impact appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Going remote is spreading quickly, and it is not a shock. Seeing your acquaintances traveling while working makes everybody think: Why would I wait for a vacation to see the world?. And people are right. With so many jobs being online these days, there are no reasons why you would sit in an office if that is not what makes you productive.

While working remotely, people have more freedom to choose how they create a life-work balance that suits them, and coworking and coliving places exist to make that easier.

With that exact philosophy, five friends, Ben, Domi, Lucca, Alex, and David, united around their love for surfing, nature, balance, and Tenerife, and decided to create a coliving and coworking space made for a perfect workation. And that’s how Maraya was born.

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Supporting the island’s philosophy

Tenerife just might be one of the best places to find this work-life balance, slow down from the fast-paced world, and find your inner peace in nature and by the water.

But Maraya’s house complements this lifestyle and what the island has to offer even more.

Their story is quite unique, and the creation of Maraya is a story in itself. Today, we’re safe to say that this is a perfect spot for somebody looking for a month-long workation escape.

With carefully designed outdoor spaces, dozens of areas to work, chill, or hang out, and an energy that just flows through the whole property, Maraya will inspire you to be in the moment and pamper yourself a bit.

How to get to Maraya Coliving

Maraya is in the small town of Candelaria in the north of Tenerife, a region known for beautiful landscapes and black volcanic beaches.

The town is only a 20-minute drive from the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 30 minutes from the Tenerife North airport, and 40 minutes from Tenerife South airport.

To get to Maraya from the north airport, you can either take a taxi for about 35 euros, a bus, or have Maraya staff pick you up for 30 euros.

The bus is the cheapest option, but it is also the longest. You will have to change one bus, and it takes about an hour altogether. Still, it’s not bad at all, and Maraya’s team will pick you up at the bus station.

Candelaria and the neighborhood

In Candelaria, there is simply everything you need: a small mall, a supermarket, a barbershop, etc. Since Maraya’s house is a bit out of the city center, it will take about 20 minutes walking the town and just 5 minutes by car. Either way, it’s pretty close.

The closest shop is 10 minutes on foot, but it’s a small one. For bigger purchases, it’s better to go to the town, but not to worry too much about logistics—Maraya has two cars that colivers can borrow, and they often carpool to the supermarkets, beaches, etc.

The neighborhood is cozy, quiet, and homely, so being tucked away but also close to the bigger town and cities kind of makes it a perfect nook.

How it all started

As the guys tell us, preparing the house, the yard, and the garden was a process in itself. Of course, every house renovation takes time and energy, but in Maraya’s case, they took it as a project on its own and poured their souls into these renovations.

Imagine five friends taking on this huge project on a super fun island, inviting a bunch of friends to help out, and just experimenting on the way. It sounds like a movie plot, right?

We can only imagine how it was, but the complete renovations took nine months, and about 30 people gave their contributions. In Maraya’s official video, there’s a special thanks to all the folks who helped build it.

These renovations gathered an awesome group of people and created new relationships, friendships, and even love. The whole building team was super international, and you could say it kind of set foot on what Maraya’s community will be like.

When we say they put their souls into it, we don’t only mean their focus, sweat, and hard work. We mean that every corner of the house has a unique story, and carries a special moment and memory of why and how it came to life.

Typically, when building a coliving, a hostel, a hotel, or anything like it, renovations are only one step towards the goal. What you can feel in Maraya is that working on the house was a goal in itself.

It’s kind of comparable to building a home. The process is completely different when you’re building and decorating a rental versus doing this for your home.

The coziness of a home is created only when people leave their personalities on every step, and that creates an energy that no rental can ever compete with.

Well, Maraya has this exact energy, and you can truly feel it the first step you take onto the property.

The rooms

The house has nine rooms, eight private and one dorm, with four shared and two en-suite bathrooms. Every room has a unique theme that goes with its name. You will find descriptions of each of the rooms on Maraya’s website, but, interestingly, as we learn, the names and themes were not planned at first.

As Ben, one of the 5 co-founders, explains, they were deciding whether they should name the rooms at all because they were struggling a bit to come up with names naturally and didn’t want to force it. Then, one day, David, another co-founder, came from Germany with a collection of artwork. It was a bunch of paintings and pictures with all kinds of different vibes.

So, they sat down and decided to categorize the artwork according to the themes and overall feelings they gave and add them to the rooms; and that is how they ended up attributing the themes to the rooms.

Even though the whole property has a certain focal design, something that I would describe as a mix between retro and boho, the subtle decor on the walls, desks, and bedding, is what gives each room a unique personality, so we suggest asking the founders about your room when you book it. The stories, inspiration, and work behind it are what will make it special.

A tribute to the Canaries

Throughout the whole property, the guys left small tributes to the Canary Islands. After all, they wanted to show their appreciation for their new home island.

The most notable ones are the San Borondon Room and little a something that you will discover in Room 1968. Keep reading, but remember – once you’re there yourself, asking questions will open you up to all sorts of secrets like these.

San Borondon Island

The room San Borondon is proudly named after a legend of a mystical island in the Canaries that seems to appear and disappear throughout history. Not only do some people actually claim to have seen the island but there are also representations of it on some maps. Although many people have sailed west to try and discover it, up to today, it’s still only a legend.

So—to go with the theme—the room San Borondon was not supposed to be a room at all! It was planned for the house to have only eight rooms, until one of the co-founders’ parents came to visit, and while receiving a tour, recognized that one of the empty spaces would make an amazing room. With ocean views, they thought it would be a waste not to use it.

The guys agreed, and, inspired by the story of an island that appears and disappears, they named it San Borondon. Also, being the only room overlooking the ocean, it was meant to name it after the island and subsequently, after a legendary surfing wave that carries the same name.

Room 1968

Another room that honors the islands’ culture is the dormitory, or room 1968.

This six-bed mixed dormitory is equipped with locally custom-made bunk beds, made from a special type of wood found only in the Canaries. The shared space evokes the period when community and communal exploration were at their prime – the late 60s, but also gives privacy and provides a cozy space for people to make their own nests.

All beds have an built-in storage space, a cozy lamp, and curtains made from traditional Canarian festive costume material that give you privacy.

We spent some time in this room ourselves and, honestly, it felt like how I imagine being on a transatlantic ship (just without the rocking ha-ha). It was truly a unique and super cozy experience.

The garden

The garden is another typical Canarian thing Maraya incorporated, and it actually had a significant role in their property choice.

They were already thinking how it would be cool to have a garden with their own produce that they and the colivers could use, and this property just had an amazing space for that. It needed work, of course, like everything else, but it was also something that the guys enjoyed doing.

During the construction of the property, many locals came just to see the garden and share their tips on how to care for it, what to plant, what not to plant, etc.

One of the biggest influences on their decisions came from a permaculture veteran, a lovely Cuban named Sergio, who helped the team understand how to sustainably grow fruits and veggies. Sergio passed away recently, so having this amazing garden today that feeds Maraya’s community is something like a tribute to this genius man.

The central area

The outside kitchen, which is also the main kitchen, is truly the focal point of the house and the community.

The fully equipped kitchen with cozy yellow lights for the ambience, good speakers to play music in the evenings, a big table to gather the community, and all that right next to a pool, is what makes this house alive.

This is the place where all 20-25 people come together four nights a week for the family dinner, share breakfast every morning, or just come to have a coffee together and hang out.

As Ben says, the outdoor kitchen is the place you should come to if you care for some company. Just go there, sit and relax, and someone will join in minutes.

Maraya’s Community

Maraya’s community is pretty big. As we mentioned above, there are typically between 20 and 25 people co-living at a time. A portion of that number goes to Maraya’s team and volunteers who help the place run and keep the community engaged.

In the one week that we were there, there were a few changes in the team: a few people going, and a few coming in, so I would say we met between 25 and 30 people in total.

Of course, you should not expect to connect with everyone, especially if you only spend a few days together, but normally, there will be at least 10 people with whom you can spend at least a week or two so you can make some workation friends.

Colivers

Most people who come are indeed working remotely, and they mostly stay 3-4 weeks.

During the workweek, the atmosphere is quite tranquil because most people work remotely, and in the afternoon hours, people are ready to disconnect. And that’s something that most colivers here have in common.

Most evenings, people often gather around the ping pong table or have some drinks and play a few board games. It’s something that connects the community and helps relax the group after a long day.

Maybe a bit different from other colivings is the fact that, other than individuals, many people come here as couples or friends. It might be more suitable given the number of colivers, so when you come with a friend or a partner, you won’t disrupt the group dynamics which can happen in smaller colivings with only 6-8 people.

Volunteers

As mentioned, another part of the community are the volunteers, and their presence definitely gives a special energy to the place. They also feel like a constant in a changing place. There will always be at least one of the volunteers outside, happy to have a conversation, help you out, share a laugh, etc.

Community building and activities

Maraya’s community is big, and there are sometimes people coming with their friends. And for some, it might feel hard to spark that connection with others because it might seem that everyone has a group.

Because of that, but also for the ultimate workation experience, Maraya’s team organizes activities that help people connect, strengthen their relationships, and just help the colivers have a fun and relaxing time.

Working 8 hours in today’s world, then relaxing with, again, your computer, makes it hard for some people to think of ways of relaxing without phones or laptops, and Maraya does a great job helping with that.

They stay organized and inform their colivers about the activities via Slack, but also by writing and updating the weekly schedule blackboard with activity names and staff members who will manage them.

Every week, a new weekly schedule is put in the kitchen area where everyone can see it, and the weekends are left so the group can decide together or guests can propose their own ideas.

Some activities are in the house and some outside like a road trip to a nearby town, a picnic on the beach, a hike, or similar.

Besides these unique group activities, there are also free yoga classes 5 days a week, and sometimes on the weekends.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t make time to join the sessions for the one week we were in Maraya, but others have told us it is quite nice. They do it on the rooftop so it’s quite lovely in the early mornings as a way to start a day, or in the evenings before dinner as a way to slow down.

Here are some of the activities that were scheduled during our time in Maraya:

Group ping pong

While ping pong is something colivers play with or without it being organized, having a dedicated ping pong night was also very exciting.

There are some games that you can play as a group, like standing in a circle around the table and playing until you drop the ball. The last man standing is the winner. Instead of playing two people at a time, or two doubles, everybody can join and experience the vibe. It can get pretty funny and competitive in a good way.

As previously mentioned, ping pong is such a simple activity that has shown so many benefits for after-work relaxation, group bonding, for shy people to loosen up a bit, and just as a good activity before going to bed.

It’s probably because it is an activity that disconnects your mind from the screen, your work, and your problems, and connects you to the moment, letting your mind have a rest.

That is probably one of the reasons that many companies also have ping pong tables in their leisure rooms, and that a lot of people in Maraya also choose to play a few games on their lunch breaks.

Backyard bonfire

One other community-building activity that we had was a bonfire. One of the volunteers made a bonfire, and we all relaxed around it, chilling and listening to music.

For the staff, it was quite a special night because two of their members (one was David, one of the founders) were leaving their positions in Maraya. It was a very intimate atmosphere. There’s something special in sitting and just listening to the fire crackling, looking at the flames, and warming up against it.

In Maraya, the activities are mostly like that—organized but very casual. The point is to relax and disconnect, enjoy the moment, and have a good rest for the next day. Everybody harvests the energy differently, so Maraya tries to spread out activities throughout the week that can answer different needs.

Someone needs a silent sit-down next to the warmth, and someone enjoys an active game of ping pong. For someone, that will be a hike, and for another person, a session of team-building games.

We’re all different, and with that many people, finding a balance can be challenging. But, that’s why Maraya has many volunteers who bring a unique energy and can offer different activities to the colivers.

Team building on the rooftop

Team building, or as Juli, one of the lovely volunteers, likes to call them—community building—is a great activity for people to get to know each other, loosen up a bit, and work together.

One night after dinner, a bunch of us got up on the roof and Juli led the community-building with some super fun activities that made us feel like kids again and helped us get to know each other through questions and answers, word games, and pairing up to resolve some small quests.

Chilean board game night

As we said, it’s best if the activities that are happening in a week have some uniqueness to them so that people can join the activities that really match their energies and that suit them.

Board game night was one of the activities for people who like to relax by switching their brain effort to a fun game, try to compete and win, and just experience a bit of that board-gaming adrenaline before going to sleep.

On one quiet Thursday night, another volunteer, Ramiro, decided that he would teach us a game that is very often played in his home country—a game called Cachos. It turns out that many countries have their version of the game. In English, it is known as Liar’s dice.

If you know about Liar’s dice, then you might guess that the quiet night became a bit crazy and that it was unclear until the end who would take the winning title.

The game was super-fun and the perfect activity to end the night with. There are also other board games available in Maraya, like Bang! and Catan, and many others. There’s plenty of room for board gaming, and if you have your own with you – you can add some spice yourself!

Showing other countries’ traditions through games (like the one with Ramiro) also seems like a great idea, but also simply sharing a game that you love. If people love it, it will be a nice memory to remember you by.

Day trips

As a part of their activities, the Maraya team often organizes day trips to nearby beaches, restaurants, towns, or other places on the island that are great for experiencing things like diving, snorkeling, watching the sunset, etc.

Of course, going to a restaurant or on a surfing trip will not be completely free, but you do get a free local recommendation, which is something of enormous value in a tourist place.

The guys have gone through the island from length to breadth, so they have some true recommendations of places they love and are willing to share them with you.

It’s a great way to explore the island and avoid tourist traps that are everywhere, especially in the south.

Get inspired for coworking

Now, if you’re coming to Maraya with your laptop, you’re probably wondering if the working environment is good enough for you to keep your routine. We’ll tell you—Maraya is truly such an inspiring place if you want to dive into this world of remote work and coworking, as it gives just the support you need for it as a newbie.

Just as an example—let’s mention food. Having ready-made breakfast every morning, and a fresh, healthy dinner four nights a week, is something many people said saves their time, helps them stay organized, and lifts the pressure off them.

Sundays through Wednesdays, everyone knows that around 8 or 9 PM, everyone will gather around the kitchen table and enjoy a nice home-cooked meal prepared by the staff.

Small things like these make this space a perfect workation spot. During the day, people focus on working, personal projects, or just some alone time, but after work, connections spark, nobody talks about work anymore, and stress gets lifted almost immediately. And that’s exactly what Maraya wanted to accomplish.

Maraya lets you stay connected to the modern world around you, but helps you reconnect with your inner child and find peace in slowing down and sharing your life more intentionally with others.

So—don’t wait too long to try Maraya out yourself—you know your soul needs it!

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Maraya Coliving – The house of community, good vibrations, and ocean views

• ByMarko
• May 3, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

• ByMarko
• November 18, 2021

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #4 Maraya – An oasis for remote workers in Tenerife North appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Cities like Valencia that are rich in cultural events and opportunities have always attracted those who seek experimentation with urban culture, exploration through art and music, and those looking for liberating growth.

However, coming to a big city, especially not in your home country, can be scary at first, and figuring it out might take a lot of time. With daily events all over the city, it might be hard to know what is worth it and what isn’t at first, and connecting with people might not seem that easy.

Busy streets give the impression of busy lives, so it can be intimidating to start making acquaintances from day one.

That’s why Vivarium exists, to act as a starting point and a center of community building for those who are beginning their curious exploration journey in Valencia.

Vivarium acts as a safe nest for those who are on a verge of a personal or a professional change and are looking to stay for a few months in Valencia and connect with others like themselves. In a busy street, you never know who is in a similar phase of life like you, but in Vivarium, you know people came for the same reason.

Being in a living community in the center of Valencia run by a true Valencian can help you explore the city in the right way and connect with people that share your interests.

For these reasons, we chose Vivarium as our third stop in Coliving Spain 2022 project and are bringing you our experience. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Inspiration behind Vivarium

As creatives themselves, and led by previous experience of working and living together, Pablo and Mar wanted to create a coliving and coworking space that would inspire ambitious and innovative people to share their ideas and grow together.

We only have a few easy options in life to make these kinds of connections – through school, university, and sometimes work. But even work can sometimes be more a salary resource than inspiration, so we often find ourselves not being surrounded by people that share our passions.

The idea behind Vivarium was to make a space where people can surround themselves with others that can bring them value and make these types of connections. Of course, to do so, and like in most colivings, the stays should really not be shorter than a few weeks at least, but even better for a few months.

The idea was not only to share their lives as roommates but to share knowledge and skills and actively engage in learning activities with others. Creating a network of people that, moving onwards, could share ideas and advice, work on each other’s projects and be a support in each other’s professional and personal lives.

Just like people, Vivarium is also changing and growing with every new experience. Collecting insights and exploring the dynamics, Pablo and Mar try to stay innovative in order to bring more value to colivers every time.

An idea for the near future is to build a collaborative learning community where people can actively work on common goals like resolving certain issues or helping one another take on some professional challenges.

Why is Valencia the perfect place for a coliving community?

Valencia is a very popular place for digital nomads. It’s not too big and doesn’t have as many tourists as Barcelona or Madrid. On the other hand, it’s urban, and it is a metropolitan, so there are so many options for everyone’s taste.

Valencia is a city with young and vibrant energy, an amazing “food and drink” culture, and loads of cultural events and opportunities for sports, leisure, and just recharging your batteries.

Having so many digital nomads, it also has a strong nomad community. This means a lot of events directed toward expats and foreigners coming to Valencia, like language exchange sessions, live international music concerts, free dance classes, etc.

Coworking places in Valencia

Valencia has some of the best coworking spaces in Spain. The most popular ones are WayCo and CoworkUp.

Vivarium actually works closely with WayCo, so if you decide to stay at Vivarium you can also choose this to be your working area. They have two locations, both spacious and equipped with all needed for any type of digital work.

They also often organize networking events for their members and have many international members as well, so being a member might serve as a great opportunity to find someone to connect with.

Diversity of laptop-friendly coffee shops

If you’re not a big fan of coworking spaces and you prefer working from cafes, there’s also good news. Valencia has quite a few places that are laptop-friendly.

We found a great place thanks to an app called Maika that helps you find cafes to work from all around the world. We were lucky to know about the app because it was actually created by Alex, one of the colivers at Vivarium!

If you’re like us and you’re often working from cafes, then you know the struggle, so definitely check the app out, and, hopefully, it helps you as it did us. By checking it out, you will also support our friend Alex! 🙂

How to get to Vivarium?

Because of its centric location, coming to Vivarium should not be a problem at all. From wherever you’re coming from, there will probably be a bus or a metro line connecting to the city center.

Coming from an airport is also easy. There is a metro line from the airport going directly to the metro station Colon, which is a 5-minute walk from Vivarium. The ticket costs around 3 euros and it takes you about 20 minutes.

The coliving is only two streets away from the metro station, and it is very easy to find it.

The neighborhood

Vivarium coliving is located in a centric building just a few minutes from the city’s most popular locations. It’s only a 10-minute walk from Eixample, 15 minutes from Russafa, and around 20 minutes from the Old City.

It is also only an 8-minute walk to the famous Valencian park Jardin Turia which stretches for 7 kilometers through the city and provides an escape into nature in the middle of the urban area.

Since it is a coliving in the urban center of Valencia, there is an abundance of restaurants, supermarkets, and stores around. There is Lidl on the corner, and Mercadona is only a few minutes away.

The neighborhood is nice and tranquil, considering it is in the center. There is not much crowd in the street, so you will still have privacy even though the place is in a centric area.

The flat

The flat occupies the whole third floor and has eight private rooms with each one having its private bathroom. The rooms are simple and minimalistic which gives that clean authentic city vibe.

When it comes to common areas, the central room is the living room with a big dining table and a chilling corner right next to huge windows. The design is clean and minimalistic, with some boho elements that add fun!

The kitchen has two stoves and two fridges so that people can use them simultaneously. It also has plenty of pantry storage.

There is another shared space that serves as a room for hanging out and relaxation, but also for work. Next to this room, there’s a shared bathroom open for everybody to use.

The house also has two balconies. On one balcony, there are a few spice plants from which you can pick up leaves and use them in your cooking.

There are also a lot of books throughout the whole flat that you can borrow and read while you’re here. If you’re more into music, there is a guitar and a ukulele as well.

What can you expect while staying in Vivarium?

Vivarium believes in an organic approach when it comes to community building.

The activities are rarely the same for each group but come spontaneously from the group’s vibe and needs. The hosts are there to start an open discussion about the colivers’ interests and wishes and inspire the group to come together and create an activity that suits all members.

Because of its special location – in the center of a big city – there is no certain way of telling which hobbies or interests people that come to Vivarium would typically have. For rural colivings, it’s much easier to predict common interests (like gardening, nature, hiking, etc.) When you’re in a big city with lots of different things to do, you cannot be confident about what people enjoy.

Pre-organizing a hiking route in rural coliving makes sense, but pre-organizing a strict event or an activity like that in a coliving like Vivarium, might not be as successful. The founders believe that groups connect better when they choose activities themselves, of course, with a bit of external facilitation.

When we say external facilitation, what this means is giving the space and opportunity for colivers to express their needs and get creative. By asking questions, creating polls, and giving recommendations to explore what the group likes and doesn’t, instead of making a schedule and pushing it on the people, you can organically spark the interaction.

Here are some of the past activities happening in the Vivarium community:

Jamming get-togethers

Every once in a while, especially when the day is nice, Vivarium hosts suggest having an open jamming session. Of course, this is the case when the groups have music enthusiasts who know how to play an instrument or two (or at least want to try).

Again, in a very spontaneous and natural way, the group would go to the park, bring a guitar and just play, sing, and enjoy the music together.

Concerts and live music events

Besides that, Pablo has some great recommendations for concerts and live music.

For example, one Wednesday, to celebrate one coliver’s birthday and say goodbye to another one, we went out to Black Note Club in Valencia.

Every Wednesday, this club hosts an open rock jamming session. Talented amateur and professional musicians who are in the city can sign up and perform for the night.

The atmosphere is incredible, the music awesome, and the musicians very talented. And the entrance this time was only 5 euros!

Using Slack to communicate all related to coliving, Pablo often shares recommendations for interesting events and shows, which can be super helpful when you’re new in the city.

When the colivers have already spent a few days/weeks in Valencia, they start suggesting as well. And this is exactly how a group spontaneously starts to connect.

Foto guestbook

One ex-coliver from Austria, Barbara, loved Vivarium’s concept so much that she decided to stay in the city and unofficially join the Vivarium team while going through a career change.

Being very community-oriented, Barbara always thinks of ways that could emphasize the people. Coming from that, one of the micro-project she introduced to Vivarium is a foto guestbook.

In a nice journal, there are two pages for every coliver to write down a bit about themselves. Also, there is space for a photo that you take with a polaroid camera and tape in the guestbook. Then, there are a few questions that help to write a bit about yourself, and after a whole blank page for yourself, so you can add whatever you want.

Such a simple idea, but it’s very interesting to see more about the people living there before you. It’s also kind of fun to do it if you’re into scrapbooking.

Wine and learn (skill-sharing)

Started as Wine & Learn Tuesdays (although the wine part is not obligatory), this is a space of a few hours every Tuesday evening to share something that you’d like with the group. This can be a skill you have, some piece of knowledge, or anything really that you think would be fun to share and teach to others.

The activity spot exists as a suggestion, but it’s on the colivers to share recommendations and sign up to lead the session or a workshop. It’s not obligatory, and the same goes for attendance. It is certainly not a must for everyone to join, the only important thing is letting the hosts and other colivers know if you will participate or not.

Just before we came, one coliver (Ines) held a yoga and meditation session, and during our stay, we had an amazing life coaching session with another coliver, Steffi, that was embracing life coaching as a new career path.

These sessions can be very interesting as we don’t even realize how different our sets of skills are. It’s super fun and useful learning about something completely different. Even if you are familiar with the topic, it’s surprising how different a different approach can be from what you know. This gives so much value.

Other than that, it’s also very beneficial in strengthening the group because while one coliver is presenting, the others are supporting. Participants are also grateful for the new free knowledge they are receiving and tend to feel closer to the presenter and more open to starting the conversation with them.

Who we met in Vivarium

Vivarium is mostly fully booked, so there are always between 8 and 10 people in the flat. The hosts try to organize the stays so one group can stay more or less coherent from the start to the end. This helps the groups connect better and get used to each other.

In the ten days we stayed there, we met ten people and a small good boy 🐶, altogether from Germany, Austria, Spain, Holland, and France. The average age of people was between 25 and 30.

Most of them are frequent travelers and digital nomads trying to travel full time. Most of them spoke Spanish, but it was not a necessity. In the house, we spoke English all the time. Even though they were together for at least a month before we arrived, they were very welcoming and helped us become a part of their community even for the ten days spent there.

The things we all had in common were more or less the age, love for traveling and experience in traveling, love for good wine and beer, tasty food, and cool events that cities have to offer.

This community was definitely a big part of our experience. It allowed us to really see and feel what Vivarium has to offer – a space where one can connect with others and find their path through these interactions.

With its philosophy, Vivarium really proves a point that Pablo once made, that you don’t have to go to the remotest places to find yourself. You just need to surround yourself with situations and people that help you grow. And that is what Vivarium is there to offer.

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Vivarium: Urban nook for the city-loving nomads in the center of vibrant Valencia

• ByMarko
• April 22, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

• ByMarko
• November 18, 2021

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #3 Vivarium – Urban coliving for creative entrepreneurs in the center of Valencia appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

With all the possibilities and the opportunities around us today, life sometimes seems too short to achieve all that we’re meant to. Because of this, society makes you think that you have to push harder every day so you wouldn’t find yourself behind your peers, colleagues, and neighbors.

And rushing into the day to achieve the maximum we can in those 24 hours we’re granted, we often forget to observe the moment. The truth is that we definitely cannot achieve everything in life. Chasing to accomplish it all will only make us lose the moments that truly count.

Taking your time to do things right and enjoying the process is definite to bring results that will last longer, have better quality, and be more stable. Living slowly doesn’t mean not trying hard and putting your time and heart into something. Living slowly only means acknowledging every step of the process as an important one, even taking a break.

Life doesn’t have a goal, there’s no finish line, so there is no reason to rush with anything. Taking your time to choose your path is what will secure the most wholesome path for you.

Slow living means taking the time to prepare your food and taking the time to eat it. It means taking the time to play with your kids and taking a walk on the beach, and knowing how to enjoy just sitting and chatting with your friends.

Ines and Julio, the founders of iSlow coliving, have embraced this philosophy and decided to share it with the world by making a coliving that will celebrate it. The name – iSlow – sparks interest on its own, and since they’re just at the beginning of their coliving journey, we decided to visit them and share their ideas with you.

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

From living fast to iSlow

Ines and Julio lived several years in the UK and most of that time in London. Even though they loved London and still speak fondly about it, they moved back to Galicia in 2021. Rural Galicia might not have London’s lively atmosphere, but it has something very valuable – the tranquility and the philosophy of slow living.

This atmosphere is definitely better for kids, so having 5-year-old twins was another reason for Julio and Ines to choose Galicia over London.

Now, after Ines’s childhood house is renovated, and the traditional farmhouse from the area received a modern makeover, the whole family can enjoy and open its doors to all the traveling families out there.

By opening the doors of its coliving, the family is also opening the doors of Laxe to the world, and letting people learn about the beauty of this small town on beautiful Costa da Morte.

Laxe – a village for all tastes

Laxe is a municipality and a town in northern-west Galicia, on the Costa da Morte. It’s a small village with no more than 3000 people that becomes a popular local-tourism destination in the summer.

With its moderate climate and impeccable beaches in the area, Laxe is a destination that madrileños gladly choose to spend the summers in. The Bay of Corme and Laxe shelters Laxe’s beaches and the exit to the ocean from harsh oceanic winds which makes the beaches great for families and kids.

The beaches are ample and have nooks all over. They are the perfect amount of urban and wild. Besides the beaches, the village is surrounded by greenery and hills and has some great hiking spots. That’s why we say it has something for everyone.

If you’re not particularly fond of the rural charisma or prefer city vibes, iSlow provides you with a modern shelter a bit outside the village. If that is your cup of tea, coming during summer can be a great option because the town becomes more lively, the restaurants open, and nightlife wakes up.

Laxe is truly a gem and definitely worth a visit, especially when your home for the time is the iSlow house.

How to get to iSlow?

Speaking of bigger cities, you can come to iSlow from Santiago and La Coruna. La Coruna is closer, but it’s more or less the same where you come from.

Santiago’s airport has a bit better connection than the one in La Coruna, so you might find a flight to Santiago before La Coruna.

When in Galicia, it’s best to have or rent a car because the public transportation connections are not the best, especially in small villages.

From Santiago to Laxe

A bus from Santiago to Laxe and vice versa goes only on Mondays, so if you miss that day, you’ll need to find other options.

Our option was to ride a bus to Baio, a town 10-15 minutes away from Laxe where Julio picked us up in his car. The trip from Santiago to Baio cost us 4.5 euros per person.

From La Coruna to Laxe

Buses from La Coruna to Laxe are a bit better connected and go every day.

The iSlow neighborhood

The iSlow house is located about a kilometer outside the town of Laxe. In our personal opinion, the positioning is great. It is close enough to the village to go by foot but not in the center of the village which makes it very private and silent.

If you arrive by car, you’ll only need 2-3 minutes to get down to the town and grab a drink or go to the supermarket. It took us around 15 minutes by foot. The only downside is that the whole way down (and back up) you’ll be walking right next to the main road, but there’s plenty of space to go by.

When you reach the village, you will have two supermarkets available. The bigger one, Eroski, will have everything you need. It’s very well equipped for a small town.

There are also quite a few bars and restaurants to choose from in Laxe, so it shouldn’t be a problem to find a spot to sit down and have a drink or grab a bite. What was interesting to us is that we found Wifi access in some bars, which is not typical for Spain. Well, maybe it is for this region, but it’s definitely useful for foreigners.

The town beach is in the town center, so also about a 15-20 minutes walk from the house to it, and only a few minutes by car.

The house also has a huge backyard that they’re still working on but has huge potential.

The iSlow house

The house is a renovated traditional house from Laxe. The complete renovation took a few years but mostly because of the slow living philosophy of life. The time spent for the house to be what it is today is noticeable in every corner. That only proves that the slow living philosophy gives valuable results.

The history of the house

The first papers of the house indicate the year 1915, but it is probably even older than that.

It is a house Ines spent a good portion of her childhood living with her family and her great grandfather. She has some dear memories about the place and her family’s history with it, and she tries to incorporate them into the coliving experience.

For instance, the rooms carry special names telling their past stories, like this room called A vaca (the cow) which was Ines’ room when she was a child living in the house. Back in that time, a part of the house’s ground floor was a place where the stables for cows were and sleeping in a room a floor up, Ines could see the cows from the small crack in the floor.

Ines and Julio decided to renovate the house in such a way that they kept the traditional characteristics of the area that tell a story, and paired it with a modern natural design.

With such a proud history of the area, they thought it would be wrong not to keep the history in the concept of their coliving. And we couldn’t agree more with that.

The house (coliving) today

Today, the house carries a magazine-worthy look. The design combines the traditional yellow stone walls and old pillars, wooden doors, and antique farmhouse decor with the industrial elements and modern elements.

The coliving space currently has six common areas (kitchen, living room, common toilet, coworking area, a terrace, and a laundry room), and six private rooms. Both the number of common and private rooms will probably go up soon. Ines and Julio are preparing the huge piece of land behind the house for a few more spaces.

The kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important parts of a long-term rental, and especially a coliving. For long-term stays, it’s important to have a good enough space to eat as you would at your home. So, having all the necessary amenities to cook and store food. For a coliving, similar to a hostel, it’s crucial to have a space where multiple people can eat and prepare food at the same time.

Well, iSlow did crazy well with the kitchen design! I think it might be safe to say that kitchen is one of the best features of the house!

The space is huge and comes with two cooking areas, two refrigerators, and sitting space for around 15-20 people. The room receives natural light from a window wall that opens to a common terrace.

When it comes to kitchen appliances and amenities, it’s fully equipped. It has loads of cooking equipment (pots and pans), a microwave, a toaster, an electric kettle, tons of utensils, plates, glasses, mugs, etc. There are also two sinks and a dishwasher.

The size of the space and number of basics make the kitchen convenient for multiple people to prepare the food and/or eat at the same time.

And above all, the size of the space and the beautiful design make the kitchen one of the best areas to hang out with other colivers.

Workspace/Coworking area

Workspace is another common area that can be very interesting to visitors. It has four big desks and provides working space for 6-7 people, but other than that, it is an office like you have never seen before!

Divided from the rest of the house with a glass wall, this space is a working oasis. The room receives a lot of natural light during the day because of two side exits to a patio and the backyard.

The industrial design mixed with the rustic and traditional stone makes this place tranquil and inspiring, but the best feature is a completely natural wall. This part of the house is leaned on the massive green rock that the owners decided to keep as an accent wall.

Its raw and completely natural state gives undescriptive energy to the space. It’s so natural that there’s even a plant growing from the rock inside the office. For the past two weeks, my favorite thing was to check on how the plant is growing. It’s beautiful.

The space feels like the outdoors, but you’re completely sheltered. Do you know that energy you feel when you’re deep down in the woods close to a small natural waterfall? This wall gives that energy to the office. It feels very natural, inspiring, and healthy for the soul and the mind.

If you are working long hours on your computer, I think this is the perfect place to do it because nature’s presence in the office will give you a healthy balance.

Other than that, the space comes with good wifi and plenty of office gadgets like a monitor, a kneeling chair, and a projector. So it’s like a fully equipped office space in the middle of the woods.

The rooms

The private rooms have that modern farmhouse design. They come with very comfortable beds, great storage for your things, a desk and a chair, an AC, and the best of all – super nice private bathrooms. Every room has its own bathroom with a rainfall shower.

On top of that, the rooms have electronic locking systems for extra security. So, if you like the idea of coliving, but also want to have your privacy, these rooms give you that for sure.

Coliving activities you can expect in iSlow

Many colivings offer special activities to their colivers to connect with the community. Coliving is not only living with others but also making a valuable community and sharing interests.

iSlow only opened a few weeks ago, so they’re still planning their activities and testing the options. We were lucky to be part of some and hear their ideas for the upcoming ones.

So, here’s what you can expect from iSlow in the upcoming period.

Language exchange

Based on the experience Ines and Julio had while living in London, they find that language exchange sessions can have a valuable impact on community bonding as well as long-term personal growth value.

As a family-friendly coliving, they want to provide these sessions for adults and kids. They know how beneficial it can be for young children to learn foreign languages, and they want to embrace that.

Language exchange is not only good for learning languages but is also a great way to introduce one’s culture and personality.

For more information about the idea, check this article where we covered it in detail.

Yoga classes

Yoga classes are a very popular coliving activity, so it’s good that Julio’s sister Sandra is a yoga teacher. Even though they have not yet decided how they’ll organize these classes and whether they will be free for the colivers or not, we had a trial session – and it was so good!

These classes also might be open for the local women to join. This is another way of supporting the local community and connecting colivers with it.

In the future, the backyard space could become a yoga spot during summer, but until then, the coworking office is amazing for small group yoga sessions. Its natural energy flows through the room so it has that meditative effect.

Camiño dos faros

There is a popular lighthouse hiking route in the area with eight stages that go through multiple villages. One of the stages is in Laxe and is a great activity to hike the stage. Nature is beautiful, and the hike is easy and accessible.

Being one of the things that visitors should do while in Laxe, this hike will definitely be one of the activities that iSlow will organize during warm days.

iSlow wrote about the Camino dos Faros as well as the stage in Laxe on their website. Be sure to check the blogs out!

Traditional Galician parties

Behind the house, there’s a barbecue place that Ines and Julio are still working on but once that is complete, a plan is to organize traditional Galician parties there.

These parties will gather colivers and the local people and be something like jamming sessions. Whoever wants to join and play something, sing, or dance, can. And those who want to chill out and enjoy the music can also do that.

We experienced something like this when Anceu coliving with 15 of its folks came to visit iSlow. It was truly a fun community experience.

The philosophy behind iSlow

iSlow grows its coliving on three main pillars – family, slow living, and the local community.

Family-friendly coliving

As a family themselves, Julio, Ines, and their 5-year-old twins want to make a safe and supportive place for traveling families.

Not many colivings and places for digital nomads are for families, and many are generally not kid-friendly. iSlow wants to change that and provide a comfortable place for parents with kids to come and enjoy the perks of nomadism and remote work. The house has many corners for kids but also spaces like coworking where adults can be alone and in peace.

Slow living

When it comes to slow living, iSlow wants to encourage colivers to embrace slow life and enjoy the moment. The house itself has that tranquil energy and provides a relaxing environment to do it all at your own pace. Less rushing, less stress, and more living here and right now.

Local community support

The third pillar is the support they want to provide to the locals of Laxe and the area. Laxe gets quite popular in the summers, but during the colder days, locals don’t have many options for leisure and fun. iSlow wants to provide this through events and connections with colivers. The locals have so much to offer to travelers but also have so much to receive from them.

iSlow is only at the beginning of its journey but they have so many things planned and we’re super excited to see where it will take them. We spent two weeks with them and met so many nice adults and kids and we’ll definitely come back!

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

iSlow: A time-stopping coliving for digital nomads and their families

• ByMarko
• April 6, 2022

• • The Coliving Spain Project

Coliving Spain 2022: #1 Awid Aman – Sustainable coliving in La Gomera

• ByGala
• April 1, 2022

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #2 iSlow – Family-friendly coliving on the beautiful Costa da Morte appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Located on a small remote island of La Gomera in the Atlantic Ocean, Awid Aman gave us the opportunity to have a glance inside its sustainable coliving and share with us its vision.

We’re very grateful to have the opportunity to share this experience with you!

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

What is sustainable coliving?

Sustainable coliving means sharing your accommodation with like-minded people while practicing a sustainable way of life. That means recycling, not over-consuming, eating fresh locally grown produce, avoiding mass-production, and giving back to nature as much as you take.

A coliving is a great way to start living sustainably because it teaches you how to act towards this goal in a group. A group is a very influential factor so having the support and examples from others will help one learn their way in this way of life.

Even though you can practice sustainability everywhere, being surrounded by nature and candid culture is definitely more inspiring. Living in a village makes local produce more accessible, and mass-production products less accessible and more expensive.

In villages, a lot of people practice a sustainable way of life even without knowing it, so being in this environment can inspire one to see that a modest way of life can be easy and satisfying.

In the past couple of years, people have started to go back to the villages and modesty. It has become apparent that city life can be smothering and unhealthy, so many people are starting to take interest in living for at least a few months in villages.

On top of that, over-consumption took its toll and many people realized that we’re harming the planet so badly by not living sustainably. Because of that, people started to reach for solutions.

Many colivings that have opened in the past year or two are practicing exactly this way of life and acting as a solution for this problem. They are opening their doors in rural places and focusing on slow and conscious living.

One of these projects is Awid Aman – conscious coliving – that we visited in March 2022, and we want to tell you all about it.

What is Awid Aman?

Awid Aman is a concept created in 2021 with the idea of making a valuable community that will leave an impact. We spoke to the creator of Awid Aman, Sonia Amroun, about her vision and ideas in the recent interview we did, so if you missed that, check it out.

Awid Aman first started as a retreat, an event, where women came to live and work together for 21 days and learn and share experiences during that time. After that, the house Casa Benahoares opened its doors to all interested in this lifestyle, and who wanted to experience living in a community.

The coliving was located in La Palma and was a huge success until an unfortunate event took place causing everything to be shut down. A volcano erupted in 2021 and brought the end of Casa Benahoares.

Sonia’s ideas didn’t go down with it, and soon she continued working on the project and finding a new place to make an inspiring home for people searching for communities.

In March 2022, we decided to visit Awid Aman’s new place and experience this vision ourselves.

La Gomera – Awid Aman’s new location

We joined Awid Aman in Vallehermoso on the island called La Gomera, a beautiful small island that belongs to the Canaries.

If you have never heard about La Gomera before, then it’s about time! A hiker’s paradise and the uncanny beauty of the mountainous slopes will leave you speechless. But, let’s start from the beginning.

La Gomera Island

La Gomera is one of the eight main islands that form the archipelago that we know as the Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic ocean. Even though they’re so far away from Europe and their closest neighbor is Morocco, the Canary Islands are Spanish territory and a part of the EU.

La Gomera is the second smallest of the islands and has around 20,000 people.

The island is rich in extraordinary nature and biodiversity and was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. In 2012, UNESCO also proclaimed the island’s capital San Sebastian de La Gomera a Biosphere Reserve.

La Gomera climate

In La Gomera, the climate varies depending on the region. Even though this island is only above 350,00km2 big, its dramatic relief creates microclimates all over the island.

On the coast of La Gomera, in the capital San Sebastián de La Gomera, the climate is subtropical and mild, and mostly sunny throughout the year.

It receives very little rainfall and is normally a nice vacation spot from May to October. From December to March, the temperature can fall to 10 degrees celsius during the night, but it normally stays above 15 degrees celsius during the day.

In the interior of La Gomera, the climate is a bit different than in the coastal parts. The interior of the island receives much more rainfall and winds, and the temperature gets lower with the altitude getting higher. From December to March some parts of the island can get very misty and windy.

During our stay, the weather was not the best. We had heavy and long rains for a few consecutive days, and only a few sunny days. Although Vallehermoso is in the interior part of the islands, such bad weather is not usual.

When coming to La Gomera, we would definitely recommend preparing yourself for wind. Bring a wind-proof light jacket and a raincoat just in case. You should also always pack a pair of hiking boots because there are some worthy hiking spots.

La Gomera towns

Speaking about La Gomera’s towns, there are quite a few charming places that you could visit. Here’s a small list to get the idea.

• San Sebastián de La Gomera – capital and the biggest town on the island.
• Valle Gran Rey – the most popular place to visit during the summer days. Taking into consideration all the beaches in La Gomera, the beaches in Valle Gran Rey are the most beautiful ones.
• Vallehermoso – a beautiful village abundant with greenery and one of the biggest towns in La Gomera. This is where the coliving was located.

How to get to La Gomera

The easiest way to get to La Gomera is from Tenerife, the closest Canary Island to La Gomera. From Tenerife, you can come by ferry (Tenerife South) or plane (Tenerife North).

Ferry to La Gomera

The ferry from Tenerife to La Gomera is approximately 1 hour long, and it costs between 30 and 50 euros per person in one direction. Two ferry agencies do the route – Fred Olsen and Naviera Armas.

If you take the car with you, you can get a round trip card for about 80 euros. We came with the Fred Olsen company and paid 45 euros for a one-way ticket each. They didn’t have any discounts on the round-trip ticket, and we didn’t have a car.

The other company – Naviera Armas – has a discount for the round ticket and they might have some perks if you’re taking the car with you.

The ferry leaves from Los Cristianos port in Tenerife and arrives in San Sebastian de La Gomera in La Gomera.

To come from San Sebastian de la Gomera to Vallehermoso, you can take the bus to the bus station. It costs 4.5 euros and takes about an hour to get to the village.

Plane to La Gomera

Another way of arriving at the island is by plane from Tenerife North or Gran Canaria (another of the Canary Islands). The airline that does this route is Binter Canaria and you can find affordable tickets from and to all the Canary Islands.

The bus from the airport to Vallehermoso will cost around 10 euros.

And now you’re here – in Vallehermoso!

The neighborhood

When you arrive in Vallehermoso, you will get down to the city center. There will be a small plaza with restaurants and supermarkets. The whole valley will be rounded by enormous green mountains. The sight is beautiful.

The village is tiny, but very well organized. There are three supermarkets (Spar, Coviran, and Suma) and a few local shops in the city center. It also has 5-6 restaurants very close by with some delicious food. There is also a bank and a small farmers’ market.

Nearby, there is a pharmacy and a clinic in the city center, and the school is just a few minutes down the street.

Our house was only three minutes walk from the city center and all these necessities.

Unlike in typical Spain, during siesta hours, the supermarkets are working. Also, on Sunday, Suma is open.

So, all in all, this small village provides everything you need to feel comfortable and situated.

The house

As we already mentioned, in the period we visited Awid Aman, we stayed in a house in Vallehermoso called Casa Gara.

The house consisted of 3 bedrooms, one double and two shared rooms, with 12 beds in total. Not counting the bathrooms and the kitchen, the house had two communal spaces where colivers could hang out – the living room and the rooftop terrace.

Rooftop terrace

The rooftop was huge and an amazing place to soak up the sun and breathe in some fresh mountainous air.

When the weather was nice, a lunch or a snack on the terrace was the perfect decision. Unfortunately, we didn’t have many sunny days during our stay, but some people knew how to catch the morning sun for some yoga and stretching.

Living room

The living room was quite nice and cozy, but a bit on the smaller side. There were not many different nooks, so when more than 5 people wanted to be inside, it could get a bit crowded. We organized games, group activities, and movie nights in the living room, and we were almost always 5 to 6 people at the time, which I think was the perfect number for the space.

Workspace

This particular house didn’t have a designated working area. We would often work in the living room or our bedrooms, but that was not always ideal. When the working area is also the dining area and the living room, there are so many distractions that can make work harder.

However, even though that working area was not IN the house, we had access to a co-working space just around the street. This space is a public space for local events and needs, and Awid Aman was the holder of one key. While we were there, not many others were using this space, so we would mostly be there alone and could concentrate on the work.

The place was well-equipped with a reliable and high-speed internet connection, free water, coffee, and tea, and you could be there for as long as you wanted and come in and go whenever you wanted.

So, even though there was no working area in the house, the co-working area nearby was a great option, especially if you wanted some privacy.

With Awid Aman, the focus is not as much on work but more on the community and creating new experiences together. If you’re the type that works a lot during the day and you require a lot of privacy and alone time to focus, you might not fit in perfectly.

Who we met there

The average age of people that decided to join Awid Aman is between 30 and 40.

All the colivers that decided to come here loved nature, traveling, hiking, and enjoyed peace.

Common interests were nature, sustainability, veganism, meditation, and yoga.

Most people were either freelancers or working remotely.

During our stay, we had the opportunity to meet people from Latvia, Italy, Canada/Romania, France, and Algeria.

Activities offered at the coliving

Activities are one of the pillars of coliving. They are the thing that makes the difference between a standard accommodation and a coliving.

Awid Aman also had organized activities that the colivers should attend, and here is what they were during our stay.

Permaculture class

At the center of Awid Aman’s concept is sustainability. Living, eating, and acting sustainably is what this experience helps you learn, and one of the ways of doing that is by visiting a local permaculture garden.

Through a local partnership, colivers can experience a true eco-garden with fresh, healthy, and chemical-free produce.

Family dinner

It is a popular communal activity in many colivings, and it was in this one. Family dinners have many benefits in making the community stronger by building trust among the people, telling stories through food, and enjoying a nice tranquil time together.

Dinner is a good activity because everybody can fit into it.

Family dinners are the best when everyone prepares something they like or something from their country. This way, people not only enjoy the food, but the food also sparks conversation about one’s culture, likes, opinions, etc.

Another aspect of family dinners, especially when all participants prepare food, is that all people are equal. There is no one marked as a leader, as a host, no one that feels like a guest.

Eco-guide

On Saturday, we had an organized tour around the island with the amazing local tourist guide Rebeca. Rebeca’s interests as a guide are focused on the natural treasures of the island, and so was our tour.

We started our tour from the Garajonay national park, where Rebeca told us all about animal and plant species native to the park. We had a nice short hike to the waterfall and enjoyed the forest.

After that, Rebeca took us to see the fortress of Chipude. She told us a bit more about the fascinating history of La Gomera, as well as El Silbo Gomero, a whistling language native to the island.

Then, we took a stroll to a local ceramics museum to hear about an old tradition that is living on the island to this day.

After that, we went to the Mirador de Los Roques to see the Roque de Agando, a massive rock formation that looked like it was floating in the mist. We finished our day with some local food while enjoying the views in Las Hayas.

Rebeca also gave some hiking tips and secrets so we could go ourselves.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming was an interesting activity we did as a group. The principle is to have a few people sign up to talk about an issue they have or an obstacle, or anything really that they need help with.

Then, when the session starts, the person explains their problem, and others try to brainstorm the solutions. However, the form is very strict, with limited hours of speaking and a strict pattern to follow.

The strict plan might seem unnatural in the beginning, but it is actually very productive and inspires conversations that will continue in the next few days.

This activity is very helpful for bonding with the group but also for sharing different views and skill-sharing.

Movie Nights

We tried to organize movie nights as often as we could. Movies were a voluntary activity that we came up with as a group. They weren’t pre-organized, and there were no obligations to joining.

However, almost everyone joined every time. We found that activity to be inspiring and to have a good impact on the group.

The philosophy behind Awid Aman Conscious Coliving

The philosophy behind the concept is building the community on the principles of shared governance; a community without a leader.

This means that the group will come together and make decisions about managing the space and the group. Everybody will step out and take a role, and everyone will be in charge of something.

Also, the philosophy is tightly related to sustainability and nature preservation, as well as reviving small towns like Vallehermoso.

The idea is that when people find themselves in nature and see its beauty, they would understand how important it is to preserve it.

The period we stayed there was a trial period for a project that Sonia (the founder) is currently working on. Even though our group might have not completely succeeded in the philosophy of shared governance, we did come out with valuable insights and learned a lot about nature and the importance of sustainable living.

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Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Awid Aman – Conscious living community

• ByMarko
• March 29, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Coliving 101 – Become a part of a global movement

• ByMarko
• March 12, 2022

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #1 Awid Aman – Sustainable coliving in La Gomera appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.